


Jos Buttler Defense Post

by HeidiJames28



Category: Cricket RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:34:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25902898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeidiJames28/pseuds/HeidiJames28
Summary: Jos Buttler is a very good test batsman and here's why.This isn't a fic just a rant with facts.
Comments: 39
Kudos: 5





	Jos Buttler Defense Post

Joseph Charles Buttler - a name that is always on every commentators' lips. They always have something to say about his talent, technique, attitude whether that be positive or negative. Recently, he has come under a lot of scrutiny for both his batting and his keeping. But how true are the comments on his ability? Let's debunk them.

Jos Buttler first debuted on July 27th 2014 against India. He then became a regular part of the test team until 2016 when he had a two-year break from the long form of the game. Buttler returned to test cricket on May 24th 2018 in a two-match series against Pakistan, scoring 81 runs in the first test. Since his return he has batted in 50 innings, scoring 1,607 runs in total. 

**His Batting**

Buttler's batting tends to be the main bone for contention when it comes to Jos's place on the team. There are a million aspects of a test that affect how well a batsman will perform. First, let's just look at his stats. 

Number of Tests - 45

Number of Innings - 80

Test Average - 32.3 

Number of Centuries - 1 

Number of Half-Centuries - 17 

Strike Rate - 57.3

_A Dip in Form_

Many complaints centre around the idea that Jos Buttler is on a long-form dip in form. Yet, I disagree, I personally believe his dip in form has lasted one (possibly two) series. 

2018 Test Average - 44.7

2019 Test Average - 25.1

2020 Test Average - 28.8

Obviously, his averages do show a discrepancy, showing a dip in form. However, dips in form happen to all cricketers. For example, Kohli's average in 2017 was 75.6 and his test average in 2018 was 54.5 (still insanely impressive but a lot lower). 

In 2018, Jos Buttler was England's leading test run-scorer (an impressive feat considering he didn't play in three out of the thirteen possible tests) scoring 760 runs in 10 tests. In 2019, Jos Buttler played 9 tests scoring 468 runs. In 2020, Jos Buttler has so far played in 8 tests scoring 379 with an average.

I believe the series that he was out of form for was the most recent 2019-2020 South Africa Series and possibly the 2019 New Zealand series (although he only played one test so it is hard to tell). 

South Africa Innings - 7

South Africa Runs - 115

South Africa Average - 16.42

This is abnormal because usually, his test average per series is between 28 and 35. In this series, the other main batsmen's averages were around 40 to 45. However, before this series (during the ashes) and after this series (during the West Indies series) his batting was much better. 

(for the sake of this I haven't included Edgbaston or Headingly because they were outliers and nobody - except Stokes - did well in these two tests)

Ashes Innings - 6

Ashes Runs - 235

Ashes Average - 39.1 (in the same three tests Rory Burns averaged 38 and Ben Stokes averaged 40)

Jos Buttler batted at number 7/8 in this series which means his average should be the lowest of the main batsmen. In comparison, Mathew Wade (Australia) batted at number 5/6 and averaged 32 in the same three tests. Wade is a specialist batsman, Buttler is a wicket-keeping batsman.

West Indies Innings - 5

West Indies Runs - 151 

West Indies Average - 30.2 (in the same three tests Ollie Pope averaged 26.8)

Jos Buttler batted at number 6 in this series. In comparison, Jermaine Blackwood (West Indies) batted number 6 and averaged 35.1 in the same tests. Blackwood is a specialist batsman, Buttler is a wicket-keeping batsman.

So yes, obviously, South Africa showed a dip in form but I don't believe it's been a long-standing issue and I do believe he is finding his form again. 

_England's Batting Line-Up_

England has had an issue with test openers and upper-order batsmen for years, especially since Cooky retired in 2018. This has caused Buttler to come in far too early (much earlier than he'd like) when the ball is still fresh and the bowlers are alert. 

Buttler bats better when our upper order have done their jobs and faced more balls. This means that he doesn't have to bat defensively when he first comes out to bat, instead he can go straight in and play aggressively.

Examples

2nd Ashes Test - Jos Buttler came out as a number 5 batsman when England were 92/3 and he only scored 12 runs (which was very similar to the rest of the players

5th Ashes Test - Jos Buttler came out as a number 6 batsman when England were 170/4 he then scored 70 (his highest score in 2019). 

2nd South Africa Test - Jos Buttler came out as a number 7 batsman when England were 185/5 and then scored 29 (whilst not excessively high it is pretty similar to the other batsmen).

This shows a difference in his performance when he can come out with runs already on the board and overs under the belt and play the brand of test cricket he wants to play. This also happens to be the reason he's on the team - he can bat at number 6-8 and add 30-40 runs quickly with a high strike-rate. When our upper order performs, Jos Buttler performs and while he might not seem like he's performed amazingly in every test in comparison to our other batsmen, he has performed well.

_Comparison to Ben Stokes_

Before I begin just know that Ben Stokes is the best batsman we have on our team and I would die for this man, however, I am pointing out a small problem with his batting. In my opinion, one of the major things that Buttler has that Stokesy doesn't is consistency. 

Stokes's Average Since The Beginning of the Summer - 53.1

Buttler's Average Since The Beginning of the Summer - 37.7

Obviously, Stokes is a better (more in form) batsman than Buttler, no-one can argue that. However, the reason Stokes's average is so high is because Stokes will hit one high score per series. For example, during the 2020 test summer, Stokes has scored 43, 46, 176, 78, 20, 0, and 9 and Buttler has scored 35, 9, 40, 0, 67, 38, 75. 

They've had very similar scores, however, Stokes hit 176 in the first innings of the second West Indies test and Buttler scored 40. If you remove this single inning, Ben Stokes has scored 196 runs with an average of 32.6 and Buttler has scored 224 runs with an average of 37.3. 

This is a common thing for Ben Stokes, his series average is usually dragged up by one or two very high scores. During the Ashes, Stokes had an average of 44.1 in ten innings. But he scored, 135 runs in one innings leaving him with an average of 34 (without that innings). He also scored 115 runs in a different ashes innings leaving him with an average of 23.8 (if you remove both high scoring innings). 

Ben Stokes's consistent average is the same as Jos Buttler's, Stokes just happens to hit one or two very high scoring innings per series and that drags his average up massively. His high scoring innings are anomalies and the exceptions to the rules. 

However, Stokes's ability to hit those high scores is insane and if he continues to hit those scores, especially if he can hit them regularly, he will become one of the best all-rounders England has ever seen. 

_Comparison to Other Number Six/Seven Batsman_

Ian Botham had an average of 29.23 when batting at number six. Freddie Flintoff had an average of 31.85 when batting at number six. And yes, both these players were all-rounders so they wouldn't have spent as much time on their batting as an opener, however, Jos Buttler is also a wicket-keeper so he will spend the same amount of time on his batting as his keeping (probably very similar to an all-rounder but with bowling instead). 

_Saving the Innings_

Buttler's ability to save an innings for a massive batting collapse has been shown so many times. It might seem like I'm contradicting my point from above but this ability is dependant on having a good partner. 

This has happened three this summer already (once to a much higher extent than the others). Jos Buttler has come out when England were in a tricky spot and he has steadied the ship.

2nd West Indies Test - Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope put on a partnership of 140 steadying the ship from 122/4 to 262/5.

1st Innings of the 1st Pakistan Test - Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope put on a partnership of 65 taking England from 64/4 to 127/5 - this wasn't a massive saving of the innings but it was an important partnership which stopped the test from massively slipping out of our hands.

2nd Innings of the 1st Pakistan Test - Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes put on a vital partnership of 139 stopping the test from being lost. Buttler came out at 106/4 and took England to 256/6 - dropping the deficit from 171 to 21 and helping England secure the win. 

Buttler might have the occasional bad test match but his ability to change an innings and change the tempo is the main reason that he is vital and of the utmost importance to our current test team. He plays a brand of cricket that is important for the future. 

**His Keeping**

Jos Buttler is an incredible wicketkeeper. The first innings of the first Pakistan test was an unfortunate inning for Buttler, however, it was not a true representation of his keeping ability. Since the beginning of 2020, Buttler has kept in 9 test matches with a catch success rate of 83%. 

Between 2018 and February of 2020, he had a catch success rate of 100% (the highest of any keeper over the same period of time).

During the first West Indies Test, Buttler dropped one catch lowering his success rate to 95%. Although, Ben Stokes also dropped two catches in the same test. During the first Pakistan Test, Buttler dropped two catches lowering his success rate to 89%. Although, again Ben Stokes also dropped a catch in the same test. During the current (and second) Pakistan Test, Buttler has dropped one catch (however, it was a very hard catch to take). Burns and Sibley have also both dropped catches. 

In comparison to Ben Stokes (who is often lauded for his catching ability) in the same space of time, Ben's catch success rate is 66% (dropping three catches in the first South Africa Test, two in the first Windies Test, and one in the first Pakistan test). 

I don't believe that Buttler's mishaps have caused him to be a worse keeper. Keeping wicket in England is a very hard thing to do especially after not playing for three months and then playing five very tightly packed games.

**Comparison Between Buttler and Foakes**

Personally, I don't like the comparison between Buttler and Foakes because I believe it's being unfairly done. 

Ben Foakes does have an average of 41.5 compared to Buttler's 32.3, however, Foakes has only batted in ten innings compared to Buttler's 80. With a longer career, there is more time for dips in form and an evening out of averages. Foakes has 332 runs in 10 innings, although, he scored 107 of those runs in a single innings which means he has 225 in 9 innings, giving him an average of 25. 

In the 2019 County Championship, Foakes only scored an average 26.19 which is practically the same as Buttler's 2019 test average (test is harder than county and therefore test averages are, nine times out of ten, lower than county).

I also believe that Buttler is a better fit for the current test team. The team knows and trusts him and he is an important member of the team. He is supportive and kind behind the stumps and it is obvious that the younger players respect him and listen to him. 


End file.
